Comfort found within the embrace of flames
by pingu1997
Summary: Wendy feels alone, and wonders why Grandine, her mother, left her seven years ago. When her emotions become to much, comfort comes from an unlikely source, showing her that she is surrounded by her family, and that even though some of their family may no longer be with them, they will never be forgotten, and will always return to them.


**I know I said that I was going to focus on one story, but this one came into my head so suddenly that I just had to write it. Its only a one shot, but I hope you enjoy it all the same! This is from the anime Fairy Tail, so you have to watched at least 60 episodes to understand the story!**

**Wendy. **

I missed my mother terribly. I missed her smooth scales against my cheek, as I rested against her chest at night. I missed her comforting warmth, the warmth that seemed endless during the cold winter months. I missed her laugh, the laugh she used to laugh when I stumbled or tripped. I missed her very essence, her being, that used to guide me through the darkest of times.  
Its been so long since I saw her, that sometimes I wonder if it was all just a dream, and then I remember all that she taught me. There is no way that such a being could have been a dream.

But she left me, without any reason or explanation. My mother is gone, even though she swore that she would always love and protect me.

"What's wrong Wendy?" Lucy asked. We were sitting at one of the tables inside the guild hall, and had been sitting in silence for a while. I was shocked out of my thoughts when she spoke, and I quickly tried to remember what we had been talking about.

"Nothings wrong, I think I'm just a little tired from the last mission that we went on" I smiled the best smile that I could, trying not to make her worry.

"You know you can talk to me if there's anything bothering you. Its not good to keep things bottled up" She smiled kindly at me.

"Its just that... I miss Grandine. She was my mother, and now she's gone, and I don't know where she is." A small tear ran down my face. This had been bothering me for some time now. Lucy's mother had died when she was a little girl, so maybe she would understand.

"I miss my mother too, but I know that she always loved me. Grandine will come back Wendy." Lucy promised.

"I can't help but think its different though Lucy... She chose to leave me, she abandoned me, even though she told me that she loved me!" I sniffled. I had so much sadness and anger welled up inside of me, and it all came tumbling out. I felt sorry for Lucy, as she didn't deserve to be burdened with my problems, and by the looks of it, she was shocked by my sudden outburst.

She reached out and placed an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a gentle hug. "I'm sure she had her reasons. How could anyone choose to leave you, when your such a wonderful person? Your mother will return, just you wait and see." Lucy encouraged, but it only made me cry harder.

After Grandine had vanished, I searched I searched everywhere and anywhere. Several times I collapsed from exhaustion, but I kept going. Eventually Mystogen came along, and I travelled with him, but for a long time I was alone, and had no one to protect me. Grandine was the only parent that I have ever known, and she abandoned me. Seven years she has been gone, and through all of that, I have been searching for her. But she is gone! Maybe she doesnt want me to find her...

All of a sudden I was pulled from Lucy's arms, and was wrapped tightly in someone else's. It took me a few seconds, but then I realised that it was Natsu that was holding me now. He gently knelt on the floor, cradling me in his lap. He hunched his shoulders over us, so that only he could see my face and only I could see his. He looked at me gently, and I was shocked to see the look within his eyes. My impression of Natsu was of a stronger older brother, someone that would always smile, even through the toughest of times. Natsu was brash, bold and confident, he would never let anything nor anyone bring him down.

But the smile on his face wasnt the wide and bright smile I was so used to seeing. There was only a slight curve to his lips, and the look within his eyes was soft and tender, a look that brought my tears almost to a stop. I could hear Lucy asking what he was doing, but I couldn't really focus on what he was saying.

"I know." He whispered softly to me. "I know the confusion, the self blame and pain. I know the absence of warmth and comfort that only a parent can bring. But your not alone wendy" Natsu spoke so softly, gently rocking me to soothe me. "But don't ever think that you are alone, because that will never be true. Even if you can't see us, your family is behind you."

I looked at Natsu's arms, and with a start saw that there were flames surrounding them. I followed his arm to his shoulder, then to his neck and chest, and realised that they were all engulfed by flames. If Natsu was covered in flames, then that meant that I had to be too! But somehow, there was no pain, and my sadness seemed to be draining away.

"These flames, they are called flames of emotion. Though everyone is under the impression that these flames will only cause destruction, they do have other qualities to them. This is the warmth that Igneel, my father, gave to me. And I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that this is the kind of warmth that Grandine, your mother, gave to you. Its a warmth that only family can bring. You have a family, a family that surrounds you everyday. You will never be without this warmth again, I promise you that."

I never thought that Natsu could be so gentle, or so right. Everything he had just said was the truth. Fairy Tail was my family. They had fought with me, protected me, laughed with me and accepted me. Why hadn't I been able to see it clearly before?

"You will soon understand, that though we have to move forward with our lives, we still carry the past with us. You can ask everyone in this room, and they will tell you that they have pasts that have caused them grief and pain. That doesn't mean that they had to deal with it alone. We will always be searching for our parents Wendy, its just now we have the rest of our family to help us with that search." He looked at me, and I saw a tear run down his face. I reached up and wiped it away, and my own tears were wiped away by Natsu's gentle hand.

Natsu stood, keeping me in his arms, and turned towards Lucy, Erza and Gray. "Want to help us search?" He asked. They all nodded, a small smile on all of their faces.

"Search for what?" I asked.

"The missing members of our family, they have a lot of catching up to do" He smiled at me.

And suddenly everything was okay. I understood that we might not find our dragons today, or tomorrow, but they were our family, so they would always be there.

**I hope you enjoyed, leave a review and let me know what you think!  
****Pingu xx**


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